(The Hill/NewsNation) — Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., criticized President Joe Biden for pardoning his son, Hunter, on federal charges, saying the president “got this one wrong.”
“It is critically important that we try to build up American confidence in our judicial system and the Department of Justice,” Stanton said Monday on “The Hill on NewsNation.” “And this decision by the president to pardon his son where he suggests it was a political prosecution, I think, undermines the Department of Justice and hurts this important institution and the rule of law.”
Stanton, who was one of many Democrats who called for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race, is not the only member of the party criticizing Biden’s move.
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“While as a father I certainly understand President @JoeBiden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, said on X on Sunday. “This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.”
In June, Hunter Biden, 54, was found guilty in a federal case on three felony charges over his purchase and possession of a gun in 2018, violating the law by concealing drug use. He was set to face sentencing in his federal gun case Wednesday.
In September, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges, avoiding a trial.
“This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers,” Stanton wrote in a post on X in response to President Biden’s pardon announcement late Sunday.
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President Biden and his team initially emphasized that there were no plans to pardon Hunter Biden, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying two days after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory that the answer was still “no” when asked about a possible pardon.
Biden, however, argued late Sunday that the charges against his son were politically motivated.
“There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution,” he said in a statement. “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”
Stanton said that he would return to Washington to discuss the issue with his colleagues, indicating that other Democrats may also speak out against the pardon.
“I respect President Biden, and he has been an honorable person throughout his time in public life. I don’t know why he changed his mind on this most important issue,” Stanton told NewsNation.
NewsNation’s Damita Menezes contributed to this report.
